First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) Short Interest Update

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,100 shares, a growth of 31.3% from the December 15th total of 17,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 21,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of First United by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 5,374 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in shares of First United in the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of First United in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Fourthstone LLC boosted its stake in shares of First United by 30.0% during the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 441,143 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,164,000 after purchasing an additional 101,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP increased its holdings in First United by 9.0% during the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 120,838 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,619,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. 33.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First United from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

First United Stock Performance

Shares of First United stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, hitting $32.95. 24,304 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,439. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.19 million, a PE ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.81. First United has a 1 year low of $19.17 and a 1 year high of $36.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.44.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. First United had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $28.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.30 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First United will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

First United Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. First United's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

About First United

First United Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First United Bank & Trust that provides various retail and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals. It offers various deposit products, which includes checking, savings, money market deposit, and regular and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), as well as certificates of deposit.